Mike Ashley waves white flag on controversial bonus plan just as Sports Direct board wins battle to set it up

Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley has caved into pressure to pull out of a controversial pay scheme that could have rewarded the billionaire with shares worth up to £200million.

The Newcastle United owner took the extraordinary step of forfeiting his right to a bonus just days after winning a battle with investors to enable him to benefit – Sports Direct’s fourth attempt to win City backing, having aborted attempts three times previously.

Ashley’s U-turn comes after shareholders, concerned the targets for the incentive scheme were not ambitious enough, threatened to vote down the chairman and other directors at this year’s annual meeting.

It seems that after going to extreme lengths to gain enough support Ashley had second thoughts.

The firm said that after discussions with the Remuneration Committee Ashley had informed the board ‘that he does not wish to be awarded any shares under the 2015 Bonus Share Scheme’.

There would be no other schemes from which he would benefit up until April 2019, it added Chairman Keith Hellawell said the £200m would be shared among the 3,000 eligible staff, pointedly attacking critics.

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‘Following recent unhelpful speculation surrounding his potential allocation, he [Ashley] is determined to ensure that there is the maximum number of shares available for the eligible employees.’

Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said: ‘Amazingly, after all the fuss and just before Thursday’s final results, Mike Ashley has grandly announced that he is pulling out of the Sports Direct share option scheme... even though it renders much of the recent debate completely futile.’

The shares rose 9p to 713.5p.

Stock watch: Sports Direct shares have made tremendous gains since the retailed floated in 2007